News
Ohio State Fair Attendance Is Up
By: Steve Brown | Ohio Public Radio • WOSU
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Attendance at the Ohio State Fair has been up compared to last year, when fair officials were dealing with the fallout from a deadly ride accident.
The Ohio Expo Center says about 385,000 people visited the state fair during its five days. That’s about 70,000 more people than the same period last year. The fair is on pace to have more go through turnstiles compared to last year, but fewer people than the more than 920,000 who turned out in 2016.
All fair rides were shut down for three days last year after Tyler Jarrell was killed when the Fire Ball ride broke apart. Both the ride’s maker and operator have deflected blame about which is responsible for rust that led to the catastrophic failure.
No accidents have been reported this year, although about a dozen people were briefly stranded on one ride that reportedly lost air pressure. No one was injured.